Former WWE star Carlito gave a timeline on his retirement plans.
On the latest edition of the Insight Podcast with Chris Van Vliet, Carlito revealed he plans to continue wrestling for the next five years before retirement.
“I’m not that old yet. My body’s not that beat up yet. Yeah, like I said, I don’t, like the plan is five years but I think, I think I can make it five more years. I’d like to, yeah, But I’d definitely like to retire on my own terms.”
He also revisited his Judgment Day storyline with Raquel Rodriguez where he would be smitten whenever she appeared in the clubhouse. The initial plans were for it to run across a week but the comedic element of it expanded beyond the timeline.
“They were always, you know, Dom and Liv and I think so it’s these ideas they threw apart. But then they would, there would be no follow up. So kind of like Raquel and I would do little things to keep going. So it’s kind of like up to us. So I would just do that because it was another thing I could work off too. Because they’re going back to what I said because this guy that doesn’t get the girl. So this was kind of like the way I could be goofed by her to make it comedic.”
“So, that was yeah, those are just little things that we would do. But originally that they said like one week and then after that it was like bring it up anymore. The original idea was ‘hey, what do you guys think of this?’ And then we did that one, the only one where she showed up when I dropped the apple. And then after that, maybe not only, but it wasn’t, there wasn’t much follow up after it. But yeah, that was the original idea was this to me.”
Following his 2025 WWE exit, Carlito returned to World Wrestling Council (WWC), GMW and other independent promotions. He has not completely ruled out a potential WWE return in the future.
Carlito holds no resentment towards his brief second run with WWE. Additionally, he expressed no regrets about his time in The Judgment Day which garnered mixed reviews from fans.
Carlito told Chris Van Vliet on the latest Insight Podcast episode that his WWE release didn’t come as a surprise because he never approached WWE nor did they ask for a contract extension. He did however state he ‘shot himself in the foot’ with the short period contract of two years instead of three.
“I signed for two years. They wanted me for three and I signed for two because, well, I didn’t think it was going to go as good as it did. That’s why I said I bet against myself and I would have got an extra year and then my, you know, then my contract would expire. But so, you know, ended up losing a year, but that’s all.”
He believes that a potential WWE legends deal might be in his future.
“Pretty sure I’ll pop up again somewhere, you know what I mean. Some kind of legends (deal) thing or something, who knows.”
Carlito stated his addition to The Judgment Day was a random idea with no specific long-term plan after his return. He also addressed the conflicting reactions to his association with the group during his limited time on the WWE roster.
“Yeah, it just happened organically, you know, like I said. So I said I was thinking like ‘Okay, how can I make this stand out, you know, do something here.’ So that was kind of where stuff, a lot of people get on me like, ‘oh, they made you look like a buffoon or whatever.’ I had fun with it. I enjoyed it. I thought it was fun.”
After nearly 13 years away, Carlito made his WWE comeback at Backlash in 2023, aligning with Latino World Order with Rey Mysterio. A year later, he joined The Judgment Day after offering to help Finn Balor and JD McDonagh particularly in multiple high-stakes matches.
He competed in the 2025 Andre The Giant Battle Memorial which ultimately became the last match of his second WWE stint.
Two former WWE names were reportedly present backstage during the recent ROH tapings.
According to a recent report from Fightful Select, former WWE wrestlers Carlito and Bobby Steveson were present at the recent ROH taping in Jacksonville, Florida. Carlito was reportedly said to be visiting his cousin, Epico, and brother Primo, who competed during the tapings. In his entire wrestling career, Carlito has never previously worked for either AEW or ROH. Carlito, 47, was released from WWE last year in 2025. Since then, he has wrestled actively across multiple different promotions in the USA, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
Meanwhile, Bobby Steveson, formerly known as Damon Kemp in WWE NXT, was also backstage. It is reported that he may have been working the show in some capacity, although he did not wrestle at the tapings. Steveson has competed in only two matches since departing WWE around two years ago in 2024. Steveson is also the elder brother of Olympic gold medalist Gable Steveson.
During a Monday appearance on Busted Open Radio, Carlito addressed his departure from WWE.
Carlito was informed on June 1 that his WWE contract would not be renewed. He is now officially a free agent with the deal having expired last weekend. Looking back on the past couple of years, Carlito said his WWE run went better than he thought it would. He wasn’t surprised that WWE made the decision to let him go, but he wishes they would have allowed him to finish up his storyline with The Judgment Day first. Carlito thinks it’s disrespectful to the fans when things like that get dropped with no conclusion.
“I wasn’t too surprised or too shocked,” Carlito said about his departure. “I signed for two years, and it actually went better than I thought it would go. The only thing is, I’m a professional, you know what I mean? They could have told me and I would have, you know, ‘Ok, at least let me finish up the story for The Judgment Day, so they can keep on going.’ I think it’s a disrespect to the fans that they just dropped the storylines.”
On the same day that Carlito was informed of his exit, R-Truth was also told that his deal was not being renewed. But after an outcry by fans and other wrestlers on the roster, Truth has since been brought back to WWE and is now going by his real name with a repackaged character.
Carlito told Busted Open Radio that he felt worse about Truth being let go than his own departure.
“But, honestly, I just felt worse for Truth. I mean, if it wasn’t a work, I felt worse for Truth,” Carlito said. “There’s certain guys that I think they should have a proper sendoff. Sure, everybody’s time comes, right? You can’t keep everybody forever, but at least some deserve a proper sendoff. So I was glad to see things work out for him.”
Carlito said it doesn’t bother him that news of his departure did not receive the same backlash that Truth’s did. He’s just happy that people spoke out in support of Truth.
This was Carlito’s second stint with WWE after originally being with the company from 2003-2010. He told Busted Open Radio that WWE was a much happier environment this time around. Carlito believes Paul “Triple H” Levesque has done a good job cleaning up the “old school bullsh*t” that used to exist. And Carlito thinks the existence of AEW has led to WWE treating talent better because they’re not the only game in town anymore.
“I don’t mean to knock on Vince [McMahon], but, you know, he seemed to have his certain things you have to do this way and the next day it changed, whatever, you know, certain rules, just stupidity. They liked people walking around on eggshells,” he said. “Because it was the only game in town and they liked the boys knowing that, you know what I mean? I think now that with AEW being around too, it’s helped. They cant — they know they can’t bully because there’s other places for people to go. That’s added to it.
“But I think Hunter’s done a good job too of just cleaning all that crap out. Plus, it’s just a new generation, you just can’t get away with certain things you could before, you know what I mean? And I just like that a bunch of that BS is gone now. People just go there, show up, and do their work.”
Carlito noted that, while he thinks Levesque likes him personally, he does not believe Levesque is a fan of the Carlito character. Going into this second run with WWE, Carlito (46) knew he was not going to be a priority because of his age. Despite that, he was able to work his comedy into Judgment Day and had the freedom to come up with ideas.
Being part of Judgment Day was a great experience for Carlito, and he is not worried about the future of the faction now that he is gone from WWE. Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez are the remaining members.
“I think all those kids are great talents and they know what they’re doing,” Carlito said. “They helped me a lot too, you know what I mean? But I think every one of that group is talented. So I think they’ll be just fine. It’ll be a different dynamic, of course, but it’ll go on.”
The 46-year-old revealed earlier this month that his contract would not be renewed. On Saturday, he posted to social media that he is now a free agent and “Back in Business.”
Two weeks ago, Carlito announced his upcoming departure from WWE, joking that he had been accused of “stealing money” from the company during the final months of his contract.
He wrote:
“My contract is up in 2 weeks. It will not be renewed. On top of that, WWE is demanding I pay back the $ they paid me for apparently “stealing money” from the company. I’ve had my lawyers look into it and after reviewing my footage on Netflix for the past months they suggested I pay them back the money.”
“All jokes aside, gracias WWE & especially the WWE universe. Los quiero mucho! PS…I’ll reappear again in another 13yrs Dios me los bendiga!”
My contract is up in 2 weeks. It will not be renewed. On top of that, WWE is demanding I pay back the $ they paid me for apparently “stealing money” from the company. I’ve had my lawyers look into it and after reviewing my footage on Netflix for the past months they suggested I… pic.twitter.com/H7depyZt5g
Carlito returned to WWE at Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico. Aside from appearances at the 2021 Royal Rumble and the following night’s Raw, it was his first time back with the company since being released in 2010 for refusing to attend rehab following a Wellness Policy violation.
Carlito joined the newly revived LWO but was revealed as the person behind an attack on Dragon Lee in the spring of 2024. He then joined The Judgment Day shortly after being drafted to Raw and remained with the group until his departure.
Carlito has already returned to the ring for his family’s promotion, WWC, in Puerto Rico. He defeated Ray González at WWC Summer Spectacular 2025 on May 31 to win the Puerto Rico Championship.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Filthy Tom Lawlor is back with tons to talk about including WWE and AEW both doing a bunch of cuts this week, why we should celebrate the career of Truth instead of seeing him as a victim, a huge week of shows, Money in the Bank qualifiers tonight, a look at Smackdown, and more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
Wrestling Observer Radio with Bryan Alvarez and Dave Meltzer returns with tons to talk about including the departures of R-Truth and Carlito and why it happened, the NJPW Best of the Super Juniors finals, Vikingo beating Alberto as expected, a UFC main event canceled just before the fight starts, SmackDown and Collision recaps, the week’s lineups and more.
A fun show as always so check it out~!
Timestamps: Start: R-Truth & Carlito WWE contracts not being renewed 7:13: WWE Raw lineup, Vikingo wins AAA Mega title 11:04: Kosei Fujita wins NJPW BOSJ 17:29: Maycee Barber pulls out of UFC fight minutes before it was supposed to start, BJ Penn arrested for third time in a week 21:32: Lineups for the rest of the week 30:14: WWE SmackDown recap 41:04: AEW Collision recap
– Bryan and I will be back tonight talking about the WWE departures of R-Truth and Carlito, weekend TV, Best of the Super Juniors and the UFC main event that didn’t happen.
– Regarding the departures of Carlito and R-Truth, which are contracts expiring and not being renewed, ultimately when there are additions coming from NXT, there will be subtractions. Older undercard guys or guys not being used are always the ones at the most risk. With R-Truth, I could see him getting a ton of indie work and TNA, maybe even AAA. But if he wants to continue, he’ll have plenty of opportunities. Carlito knows the indie scene and worked on it for years. It is interesting the number of WWE folks who had so much positive to say about R-Truth compared to most who get cut.
– Kosei Fujita beat Yoh to win Best of the Super Juniors earlier today at a sold out Ota Ward Gym. We were told this was a match of the year contender. They went 28:05 before Fujita won using thrill ride.
– I don’t know that Collision will be a great ratings show after the first 45 minutes given the late start, particularly Mascara Dorada vs. Hechicero starting at about 1:30 a.m. But there was a lot of great wrestling on the show and they built the Wednesday night show hard.
– Independent wrestler Jeff Cannonball has been diagnosed with ALS. Cannonball was a regular for a number of Northeast independents. He is 38 and was just diagnosed with the disease a week ago but it progressed very rapidly.
– B.J. Penn was arrested for the third time in a week on Friday for failing to appear in court. He claimed he missed his hearing because he was sick with COVID, but obviously the judge wasn’t buying this. He was released again on another $2,000 bond. His attempt to get a restraining order against his mother, Lorraine Shin, was denied. She still has a restraining order against him.
– Maycee Barber not only missed weight for her fight last night with Erin Blanchfield, which headlined the UFC show at the Apex, but just as a video package playing for the fight finished, it was announced Barber wasn’t medically cleared to compete. Blanchfield said she’s not going to agree to a match at this point with Barber. Blanchfield said she was in the doorway about to come out when she was told they were delaying the fight six minutes. Then Hunter Campbell came in and told Blanchfield that Barber was having a seizure and the fight was off.
– UFC Noche which was scheduled for 9/13 at Arena Guadalajara has been moved to San Antonio. It was not announced as a PPV show but originally it was. Arena Guadalajara, which hasn’t opened yet, was thought to be touch-and-go if it would even be ready to open by that date. The big question is with this no longer on PPV, does that mean Dana White will be back working with Turki Alalsheikh in promoting Canelo Alvarez vs. Terrence Crawford that night as the debut of TKO boxing. Everything has remained secretive on that front since Alalshikh announced SELA as the promoter and didn’t announce TKO, Dana White or Nick Khan.
– Announced for Raw tomorrow night are MITB qualifiers with CM Punk vs. AJ Styles vs. Grande Americano and Stephanie Vaquer vs. Liv Morgan vs. Ivy Nile.
– Matches announced for Fyter Fest, a four-hour AEW special on TNT, on Wednesday at 8 p.m. are Kenny Omega vs. Mascara Dorada vs. Claudio Castagnoli vs. Brody King for the International title, Jon Moxley vs. Mark Briscoe non-title, Toni Storm & Mina Shirakawa vs. Julia Hart & Skye Blue, FTR vs. Atlantis Jr. & Templario, Rush & Dralistico & Mortos vs. Mike Bailey & Kevin Knight & Komander plus Thekla will have her in-ring debut and The Hurt Business with MJF appear.
– The movie “The Pickup,” starring Eddie Murphy and with Roman Reigns having a role will be released on Prime Video on 8/6.
– AAA obviously went through with plans and El Hijo del Vikingo beat Alberto El Patron to win the AAA Mega title. WWE advertised this coming Saturday’s Vikingo vs. Chad Gable match as being for the title even before Vikingo won the title. Vikingo’s father, who Alberto attacked on a television show a few days earlier, interfered and hit Alberto with a guitar shot to set up the win.
– Carlito beat longtime rival Ray Gonzalez last night in Bayamon,PR, to win the Puerto Rican title for the WWC promotion.
– Bear Bronson joins Mariah May and Abadon as those who were announced as being finished with AEW, but those decisions were all months ago and none have been used since May had her blow-off match at Revolution on March 1 with Toni Storm.
– In the English language TV show category, this was where Friday’s SmackDown placed on the day of airing in various countries:
4. Australia
3. India
4. New Zealand
2. Saudi Arabia
2. U.K.
3. Canada
1. Mexico
– For Google trends, R-Truth was at 100,000 as last checking and last night’s UFC show was at 57.000
– Jun Saito retained the All Japan Triple Crown beating brother Rei Saito in Sendai, where both grew up. They played this up as a big deal, including having someone sing the Japanese national anthem and a video package of them growing up, playing high school football in the U.S., and during their sumo days.
– Pro Wrestling Revolver announced that Myron Reed took a nasty spill and was knocked out in a match last night. The match was stopped immediately. He was taken to the hospital where he has since been released and he did not have any serious injuries according to the doctor.
– United Wrestling Coalition on Saturday night in New Egypt, NJ at the American Legion at 7 p.m.
The 46-year-old posted a message to social media on Sunday confirming an earlier report from PWInsider that his contract will not be renewed. He added that his deal expires in two weeks and joked that there are concerns he “stole money” during his final months with the company.
My contract is up in 2 weeks. It will not be renewed. On top of that, WWE is demanding I pay back the $ they paid me for apparently “stealing money” from the company. I’ve had my lawyers look into it and after reviewing my footage on Netflix for the past months they suggested I… pic.twitter.com/H7depyZt5g
The news comes on the same day that R-Truth announced he is also exiting WWE.
Carlito wrestled on Saturday night in Puerto Rico at WWC Summer Madness 2025, where he defeated Ray Gonzalez to win the promotion’s Puerto Rico Championship. It was his first match since competing in the Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal in April, which was his only televised WWE match of the year.
Carlito had been with WWE for the past two years, returning at WWE Backlash 2023 in Puerto Rico. He later joined the LWO, but turned heel in March 2024 after being revealed as the person behind an attack on Dragon Lee. Carlito then joined Judgment Day in 2024 after being drafted to WWE Raw.
Carlito is the latest member of Judgment Day to win championship gold.
He defeated Ray González at WWC Summer Madness 2025, held Saturday at the Pepín Cestero Arena in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, to win the WWC Puerto Rico Championship. It’s his second reign with the title, the first came in 2014, when he defeated TNT (Savio Vega).
— Lucha Libre Online (@luchalibreonlin) June 1, 2025
WWC announced last month that Carlito would return to the promotion for the first time in two years to wrestle on the show. The promotion released a statement revealing that Raw General Manager Adam Pearce had worked out a deal for Carlito to return and “settle outstanding accounts in Puerto Rico.”
With the title win, Carlito joins Intercontinental Champion Dominik Mysterio and WWE Women’s Tag Team Champions Liv Morgan and Raquel Rodriguez as Judgment Day members currently holding championship gold.
WWC was founded in the early 1970s by Carlito’s father, Carlos Colón, along with Gorilla Monsoon and Victor Jovica. Saturday marked Carlito’s first appearance in WWC since the promotion’s 50th Anniversary show in 2023. He has held the promotion’s top title, the WWC Universal Championship, 17 times, behind only González with 24 reigns and his father with 26.
Carlito is returning to his family’s promotion in Puerto Rico.
The Judgment Day member has been announced for World Wrestling Council’s Summer Madness on Saturday, May 31, 2025. The show will take place at the Pepin Cestero Arena in Bayamon and will be Carlito’s first match for the promotion since the WWC 50th Anniversary show in 2023.
“Confirmed: WWE has reached an agreement with WWC in Puerto Rico. Former United States Champion, former Intercontinental Champion and former World Tag Team Champion, Carlito, has been authorized by Adam Pearce to settle outstanding accounts in Puerto Rico,” reads a translation of WWC’s Facebook post.
WWC was formed in the early 1970s by Carlito’s father Carlos Colon, along with Gorilla Monsoon and Victor Jovica. It was known as Capitol Sports Promotions until changing its name to World Wrestling Council in the mid-90s.
Carlito is a 17-time WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion and has held the title a combined 1,318 days, ranking third all-time in both number of reigns and total days behind Ray Gonzalez (24-time champion, 1,861 days) and Carlos Colon (26-time champion, 3,945 days).
Carlito appeared on WWE Raw in Louisville on Monday. He was seen in a backstage segment with other members of Judgement Day, and appeared to be asking Raquel Rodriguez is she would like to spend some time together while Liv Morgan is away filming a movie.
Though he’s turning 46 years old soon, Carlito feels like he’s still got some time left as an in-ring competitor.
Carlito has been back with WWE since 2023, returning 13 years after his initial run with the company ended. He has a featured role on WWE Raw as a member of the Judgment Day alongside Finn Balor, Dominik Mysterio, JD McDonagh, Liv Morgan & Raquel Rodriguez.
During Royal Rumble weekend in Indianapolis, Carlito was the guest on a live episode of Insight with Chris Van Vliet. The subject of his in-ring future came up, with Carlito saying he believes he still has a few years left.
“For a little bit, yeah. I still feel like I have a little bit left in the tank,” Carlito said. “I feel like I got a few more years in me. Not many, but a few.”
Carlito will celebrate his 46th birthday on February 21. When asked if he would wrestle into his 50s, Carlito said that’s probably not going to happen. He feels like he could handle it mentally but doesn’t think that would work for his body.
November 2024 was Carlito’s most recent match. He told Van Vliet that he’s been dealing with some injuries.
“I’ve been dealing with some injuries, so not bumping has helped,” Carlito said. “Like I said, there’s still a little bit left in the tank.”
Carlito said he’s had a lot of fun being part of Judgment Day and hopes to do something with them at WrestleMania 41 this April.
It’s another episode of We’re Live, Pal, which is also available for free on YouTube below, as Andrew Zarian and I talk about what’s going on in wrestling today.
We kicked off the show talking about the tribalism and goofiness between hardcore fans of AEW and WWE.
We then hit on some key topics such as:
Bron Breakker beating Jey Uso for the WWE Intercontinental title and what it means for Jey Uso and the Bloodline war
Carlito’s irresponsible comment on WWE Raw
Samantha Irvin leaving WWE
The BCC and if it’s AEW’s version of the NWO
My thoughts on attending last week’s AEW Dynamite in San Jose
An update regarding a controversial line in a backstage segment on WWE Raw last night is available.
During a segment involving Adam Pearce and Damage CTRL, Carlito said, “I got to learn Chinese,” as IYO Sky and Kairi Sane, both of whom are Japanese, walked out of frame. The line has since been edited out of digital clips on social media.
Fightful Select reported on Tuesday that the line was not scripted and that some in WWE were unhappy it was said.
Our Bryan Alvarez has since confirmed the news, writing, “Confirmed from multiple sources that the Carlito Chinese line was an ad lib” to his subscribers on X.
The segment took place as Carlito was in Pearce’s office to request a World title shot against Gunther for his Judgement Day stablemate Dominik Mysterio. Pearce then said that if Dominik can beat a former world champion on next week’s show, he will consider it.
Wrestling Observer Live with Bryan Alvarez and Mike Sempervive is back with tons to talk about including Carlito’s stupid line on RAW, more on Samantha Irvin and why she left WWE, RAW from Monday, upcoming line-ups and tons more. A fun show as always so check it out~!
